Foreign Fishery Developments

Aid Eyed for Italy's Ailing Marine Fishery

published soon and the final results ofthe complete survey in the spring ofJ976. Information gained from thesurvey will be used in cooperativeState/Federal efforts to develop fisherymanagement programs. Details ofthe survey can be obtained by contact­ing Statistics and Market News Divi­sion, National Marine Fisheries Ser­vice, NOAA, Washington, DC 20235.

Current Fishing IndustryMarket Prices Available

Fishery Market News Reports arenow available by subscription accord­ing to the National Oceanic and Atmo­spheric Administration's NationalMarine Fisheries Service. The reportspublish pertinent information on cur­rent wholesale market prices, exvesselprices, landings, imports, and move­ments of fishery products both in theUnited States and abroad. The dataare gathered daily by the Commerce

During the past 2 years the [talianhigh-seas fisheries have been facingincreasing difficulties, particularlybecause of the trend toward the exten­sion of fisheries jurisdictions off WestAfrica, the traditional grounds forItalian fishing vessels, according toMario [andoli, President, ItalianNational Federation of Fishery En­terprises (FEDERPESCA), writingin La P'eche Maritime. This develop­ment has forced the Italian fleet totravel to more distant and less abun­dant grounds off North America andSouthern Africa. The Italian fisheriesare becoming noncompetitive becauseof declining catch rates and the length­ening of the distances between homeports and overseas fishing grounds.The time required for each trip hastripled (from 40-50 days to 150-160days) and costs have increased sharply,reducing profits and causing losses.

Two years ago, 95 Italian vesselsfished the Atlantic. The development ofsuch a large fleet had been made possi­ble by assistance from the Govern­ment, which gave a 130-150 millionlire (US$200,000-220,000) subsidy

Department agency, through telephoneand personal contact with key fishingports and markets for fishery products.

[n addition to marketing information,Fishery Market News Reports containnews items of interest to people in thefishing industry. The reports are pub­lished in five cities: Boston; New York;New Orleans; Terminal Island, Calif.;and Seattle, on Monday, Wednesday,and Friday. In addition to the dailyinformation, a weekly summary foreach of the cities is published onFridays.

The New York report specializes inwholesale prices for fresh and frozenfishery products traded in New Yorkmerchandising centers. The Bostonreport carries the Boston fish auctionprices, the New Bedford auction prices,ex vessel prices, landings in selectedNew England ports, Chicago marketreceipts, and frozen wholesale pricesfor the New England and Chicagoareas. The New Orleans report carries

for each high-seas freezer trawler andfacilitated the payments on up to 50percent of the construction costs.

Today, the total number of Italianhigh-seas fishing vessels has decreasedto 65. The vessels having small grosstonnage (particularly those havingless than 600 G RT) can no longeroperate profitably. Their costs arealmost equal to those of larger vesselswhile their catches are much less.Many such vessels have been sold orwere decommissioned.

Several proposals have been madeto assist the ailing fishing industry.Joint operations with West Africancoastal countries have been suggested.Such ventures would especially bene­fit [talian shipyards and fishing gearfactories, and would also permit Italianfleets to continue operations alongthe West African coast and an Italianentry into African fishery markets.This option would require consider­able investments. The Italian govern­ment will have to study the possibilityof financial and technical assistance tothe industry as is being done by theGovernments of France, Spain,

3S

Gulf shrimp landings and exvesselprices and the Terminal Island reportspecializes in data pertaining to thetuna industry. The Seattle report con­tains information on the halibut,salmon, groundfish, king crab, andshrimp fisheries in the northwesternUnited States as well as Alaska. TheSeattle report also publishes data onBritish Columbia fisheries.

Annual subscription rates for threereports per week plus the weekly sum­mary is $35.00 per report(i.e., Boston,New York, New Orleans, TerminalIsland, or Seattle). The weekly sum­maries are available for $15.00 peryear per report.

Subscriptions may be started bymaking checks or money orders pay­able to the Department of Commerce,NOAA, and mailing them to the U.S.Department of Commerce, NOAA,National Marine Fisheries Services,F2x I, Room 404, Page Building 2,Washington, DC 20235.

Portugal, Greece, Norway, and Japan.A proposal to build up an Italian

fleet of 100 large fishing vessels with atotal gross tonnage of 160.00Q..200,OOOtons has been made. The emphasis onlarger vessels with an average of 1,600­2,000 G RT was made because vesselsof lesser tonnage are no longer profit­able. The annual catch could thendouble from 75,000 to J50,000 metrictons and would be worth over 30 bil­lion lire ($45 million). This would helpto eliminate deficit imports of fish andother fishery products.

The restructuring of the Italian fish­ing fleet, however, requires.a plan ofcoordination under which the Govern­ment provides at least a part of theinvestments especially in the form ofeasy credit. Large and effective grantsmust be made to compensate partiallyfor the disadvantages resulting fromlonger trips to grounds very far fromItaly.

Urgent action is necessary. Deliverycontracts for fish cannot be deferred­the processing industry must continueto produce, or it runs the risk of depriv­ing the market of an important sourceof food, and causing strikes. Positiveaction would help Italian shipyards,repair yards, and related industries.

Philippines Fishery Development Assistance Reported

Source: Annual Report on Development Assistance to the Philippines by Donald R. Bergstrom. Resident Repre­sentative. UNDP. Manila. April 1975.

Source of Amount Period of Nature ofProjecUActiYity assistance (US$) commitment assistance

Fishermen's Training UNDP 1.019.263 1972-76 Advisory services. fellow-Center ships. equipment (in Cavite)

Intand Fishery UNDP 171.901 1969-74 Advisory services for fishBiology pond production in Luzon

and ViscayaTrap Net Fishing GOY\' of 7.582 1974-75 3 experts to demonstrate

Japan above in PanayFishery Statistics Govt. of 17.060 1974-75 One statistician and equipment

JapanShrimp Culture Govt. of 345.935 1974 6 experts and equipment

JapanFisheries Development GOY\' of 10.244 1974 Nets and generators to help

Japan trap-net fishingFisheries Development GOY\' of 35.000 1974 Services of 5 experts

Norway

Total 1.606.985

Canada ImplementsFishery Subsidies

On I January 1975, Canada im­plemented a C$20 million short-termassistance plan for Canadian fishermen,trawler operators, and processors tohelp rehabilitate the Canadian ground­fish industry. I The plan was designedto keep the groundfish fleets in opera­tion during the winter months bypartially offsetting rapidly rising costsfor fishermen, and by assisting proces­sors in reopening seasonal plantshard hit in 1974 by late ice conditions.This plan terminated on April 30.

On I May, a new C$50 million sub­sidy plan, designed to provide both,long-term financial assistance andeconomic planning for the future,went into effect. Canadian FisheriesMinister Romeo Le Blanc stated thatnew initiatives with respect to resourcemanagement, harvesting, processing,and marketing were necessary toachieve the long-term goal of reestab­lishing a healthy fishing industry.

The new C$50 million assistanceplan involves two programs. First, thegroundfish program will provide sup­port of up to C$28 million for inshoreand offshore fishermen owning vessels

Ifn the faU of 1974 the Canadian Governmentspent C$15 million in an initial attempt to shoreup the fishing industry.

The Annual Report on Develop­ment Assistance to the Philippines for1974 has recently been published bythe Manila Office of the United NationsDevelopment Program (UNDP). Thetotal amount committed for fisheriesprojects (for which statistics are avail-

and producing first-quality fish. Thisprogram also provides up to C$12 mil­lion in assistance to those processingplants which agree to maintain I July1974 prices for fishermen. Selectivefisheries on both the Atlantic andPacific coast will receive benefits;however, most of the funds will be usedto assist the ailing Atlantic provinces.

Second, a sum of C$IO million willbe provided "to help solve marketingproblems encountered by other seg­ments of the industry throughoutCanada, and will involve deficiencypayments, inventory financing, andthe processing of fish for use in inter­national food aid programs."

MOROCCO LOBSTEREXPORTS LISTED

Three species of lobster arecommonly caught in Moroccan waters:(I) Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegi­ellS; (2) European lobster, H omarusvulgaris; (3) European spiny lobster,Palinurus mauritanieus, called "Ian­gouste" in Morocco.

In 1973, total Moroccan lobsterexports amounted to about 150 metrictons valued at roughly US$I.3 million.The U.S. Regional Fisheries Attachereports that lobster is difficult to findin Casablanca's hotels and restaurantsbecause of limited landings and heavyexports. Most lobster exports go to

able) was over US$1 ,606,985. Financialdata on a number of projects is notavailable, however, and some of thefunds noted below were actually spentprior to 1974 on projects operationalover an extended period of time. (Seethe table below.)

France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.Tables I and 2 provide a detailed break­down of Morocco's 1973 lobsterexports.

Table 1.-Moroccan exports of lobster', by quantityand value, 1973.

ValueQuantity

Commodity (kg) Dirhams2 US$

Lobster tails 451 15,120 3,780Lobster. live 47.827 1.297,150 324.288Lobster, whole 2.687 59.690 14,923Lobster,

whole, nes 305 9.030 2.258Langouste.

whole 103.681 3.882.260 970.565

Total 148.951 5.263.250 1.315.814

'Source: MAROC. Ministere des Finances. Office desChanges. Statistiques du Commerce Exterieur,Rabat, 1974.'US$I.00 4 Dirhams.

Table 2.-Average price of Morocco's lobster ex­ports" 1973.

Commodity Dirhams/kg US$/Ib

Lobster tails 33.52 380Lobster. live 31.01 3.52Lobster. whole 22.21 2.52Lobster. whole. nes 29.60 3.36Langouste, whole 37.44 4.25

lSource: MAROC. Ministere des Finances. Officedes Changes. Statistiques du Commerce Exrerieur,Rabat. 1974.

Japan Searches forNew Fishing Grounds

The Maritime Fishery ResourceDevelopment Center of Japan has dis­patched a 3,300-gross-ton research ves­sel to survey deep-sea waters south ofNew Zealand, theJapan Times reports.The Shinkai Mal'll left Tokyo on 9 Aprilfor a 5-month voyage during whichshe will make 6 hauls daily in an areacovering 400,000 square kilometers.When the survey is finished, theShinkai Maru will be sent to assessfishery resources of the SoutheastPacific and the North Atlantic.

At present, Japanese vessels catchabout 10 million metric tons of fisheryproducts annually; the Maritime Fish­ery Resource Development Centerhopes that its research vessels will dis­cover new deep-sea fishery resourcesthat will help maintain Japan's fisherylandings at current levels.

The NMFS Office of InternationalFisheries reports that Japanese fisher­men face the loss of traditional fishinggrounds as the countries, off whosecoasts they now fish, increase theircontrol over marine resources byextending fishery jurisdictions.

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Shrimp Operators off Guyana Face Financial Crisis

The Soviet Union, whose largefishery fleets are faced with the sameproblem, is also devoting more andmore of its fisheries research to deep­water investigations.

Problems Plague Japan'sTuna Fishing Industry

Severe management difficultiesconfronting Japanese distant-watertuna vessel owners are resulting inmounting cases of bankruptcy, vesseltie-ups, and curtailment of business.Many vessel owners are also reportedto be on the verge of bankruptcy. Esti­mates based on studies made by theFisheries Agency, lending institutions,and industry indicate that, as of theend of April 1975, there were 36 casesof bankruptcy involving 56 vessels, 23cases involving 24 vessel tie-ups, and40 cases of business curtailment affect­ing 53 vessels, totaling 99 cases and 133vessels. In addition, about 101 enter­prises are threatened with bankruptcy.The removal from the fishery of over10 percent of the high-seas tuna fleet(of about 1,200 vessels) is indicative ofthe grave crisis confronting theJapanese fishing industry.

Although tuna imports from SouthKorea have contributed partly to theplight of the Japanese tuna vesselowners, the Fisheries Agency's viewis that the problem was the outcome ofweakening management structure com­pounded by the energy crisis that struckthe industry. The Agency, which in1974 had provided 9 billion yen (US$30million) to help the tuna industry re­cover from the energy crisis, hasdeclared that steps will be taken to aidthe industry, but no specific measurehad been developed by mid-year.

Japanese frozen tuna exports duringJanuary-March 1975 totaled 13,775 tonsvalued at 1,636 million yen (US$5.5million). This is a sharp decline of 66percent in quantity and 80 percent invalue from the comparable 1974 exportsof 41,594 tons worth 8,272 million yen(US$27.6 million). Exports to the U.S.mainland fell drastically, amounting toonly 4.3 percent in quantity of theprevious year's levels, and exports toPuerto Rico dropped to 43 percent.

By species, skipjack and albacore

exports dipped particularly heavily.Skipjack, which recorded 10,376 tonsduring January-March this year, weredown 20,000 tons or 66 percent from1974, and albacore, at 463 tons, weredown 6,300 tons or 93 percent. Exportsto the U.S. mainland declined to 3.8percent of last year's levels for skip­jack, 2.7 percent for albacore, and 50percent for yellowfin. Shipments toPuerto Rico fell to 25 percent for skip­jack and albacore, and 50 percent foryellowfin. In view of the present U.S.tuna market conditions, Japanesetrading firms foresaw no short-termrecovery of sales to the United Statesand felt that tuna exports would sufferdevastating setbacks this year.Source: Suisan Keizai Shimbun.

Salmon Subsidy PaidGreenland Fishermen

Greenland was allocated a 1,191­metric-ton catch of migratory salmonby the International Commission for

Twelve Japanese fishery companies,with a total of 123 trawlers, have beenengaged in shrimp fishing off Guyana(northeastern South America) theNMFS Office of International Fish­eries reports. U ntiJ a few years ago,these trawlers had each landed anaverage of 45-50 metric tons of shrimpannually realizing profits of 10-12 per­cent. However, skyrocketing fuel,labor, and fishing gear costs, decliningcatches (landings have decreased 20-30percent since mid-1974), and staticmarket prices have caused substantialfinancial losses to the Japanesecompanies.

Hit particularly hard are those com­panies which entered the Guyanashrimp fishery in 1973. The inexperi­ence in managing fleet operations andthe burden of payments on loans fornewly-built boats have accentuatedtheir financial problems. One of thesefirms tied up its vessels early this year;two others were expected to suspendoperations later. The remaining twocompanies (Nihon Enyo Gyogyo andGuyana Suisan), both based in George­town, Guyana, planned to transfer

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the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries forthe 1974 fishing season. This quota wassurpassed (by 8 tons) 3 months beforethe season officially ended on 30 No­vember, according to the U.S. Embassy,Copenhagen, Denmark. As a result,many small craft fishermen located inremote and isolated areas of northernGreenland had not yet caught theirshare of the Total Allowable Catch(TAC), when the Danish governmentordered all salmon fishing operationsto cease.

As these fishermen depend heavilyupon salmon revenues for their liveli­hood, the Fisheries Ministry forGreenland and the Greenland Provin­cial Council agreed that a one-time cashcompensation of $100.000 would beawarded to the salmon fishermen. Eachagency would share half the cost, andwhile the compensation was awardedon a one-time basis, it was indicatedthat the award would not prejudice anysimilar future compensations shouldthey become necessary.

their operations to Barranquilla,Colombia, where diesel fuel could bepurchased at one-third the Guyanacost. The above 5 companies own atotal of 32 fishing vessels and it isbelieved that they will all either go outof business, or switch to differentfishing grounds and/or bases.

To overcome the problem of declin­ing catch, several firms planned toshift their operations from coastal todeep-water fishing, following theexample of U.S. shrimp fishermen.The Japanese hope to fish at depths of150-200 meters and may even try for300 meters (Japanese trawlers arepresently fishing at depths of 50-80meters). U.S. deep-water shrimp fish­ing methods and gear modifications willbe studied.

An estimated 47 Republic of Koreavessels are also fishing for shrimp offthe Guianas. This total may reach 70to 90 when vessels now being built areadded to the fleet. The construction ofabout 30 of these new vessels reportedlyis being financed by Japanese tradingfirms.Sources: Suisan Tsushin, Su;san Keizai Shimbun.

Japanese Whale Fishery Extension Explored

Recent NMFS Scientific Publications

A representative of a Japanesewhaling company explored the possibil­ity of harvesting gray whales off thecoast of Baja California, Mexico thisspring according to a report in the SanDiego Union. The proposal envisionedJapanese whaling and processingvessels operating from shore stationsin Mexico and harvesting whalescommercially.

According to the InternationalFisheries Analysis Division, NationalMarine Fisheries Service, NOAA, theharvesting of California gray whales isbanned by the International WhalingCommission, to which Japan belongs.The Japanese Embassy in Washing­ton, D.C. has assured the U.S. Depart­ment of State that Japan intends torespect the ban.

Whaling is an important industry inJapan the International Fisheries

Publications

NOAA Technical Report NMFSSSRF-687. Reintjes, John W., andPeggy M. Keney. "Annotated Bibli­ography on the biology of the men­hadens, genus Brevoortia, 1963-1973."April 1975,92 p. Individual copies areavailable from D83, Technical In­formation Division, EnvironmentalScience Information Center, NOAA,Washington, DC 20235.

ABSTRACT

A bibliography that consists of444 references on the classification,distribution, abundance, life his­tory, and ecology of American men­hadens, genus Brevoortia. Includedare references to menhaden pub­lished from 1963 through 1973with those references publishedprior to 1963 that were omitted frommenhaden bibliographies byReintjes et al. (1960) and Reintjes(I 964a). Brief annotations and asubject index are included.

NOAA Technical Report NMFSSSRF-688. Blahm, Theodore H.,Robert J. McConnell, and George R.Snyder. "Effect of gas supersaturatedColumbia River water on the survivalof juvenile chinook and coho salmon."

Analysis Division reports. Accordingto industry sources, whaling employs50,000 persons and provides about 10percent of Japan's total protein con­sumption. Declining whale popula­tions are causing difficult adjustmentsto the industry. Already six largeJapanese whaling companies havebeen forced to merge their operations I.

The Mexican initiative is part of a con­certed Japanese effort to seek out newwhaling grounds.

Whales have been under the protec­tion of the Mexican Governmentsince 1964 and sanctuary status hasbeen conferred on Scammon's Lagoonin Baja California where the graywhales give birth to their young afterthe annual Alaskan migration. Accord-

'See "Japanese Firms Merge, Hal.ve Fleets,"Marine Fisheries Revielv, August 1975,37(8):38.

April 1975, iii + 22 p. Individual copiesare available from D83, TechnicalInformation Division, EnvironmentalScience I:nformation Center, NOAA,Washington, DC 20235.

ABSTRACT

The deleterious effect of high con­centrations of dissolved gas on valu­able stocks of Columbia Riversalmon and trout has led pollutioncontrol agencies in the PacificNorthwest to consider establishingstandards for the amount of dis­solved gas in the water. Researchhas been done with salmonids todefine the criteria upon which suchstandards should be based, but themajority of these studies werecarried out in shallow tanks (lessthan 1 m deep) where supersaturatedconcentrations of gas had beenartificially induced. This reportdiscusses tests that were performedat a field laboratory on the Colum­bia River. Juvenile chinook,Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, andcoho, O. kisU1Ch, salmon weretested in deep and shallow tanks withriver water reflecting the prevailing(and fluctuating) concentrationsof dissolved gases. Results indi­cated that the water depth in adeep (3 m) test tank enhanced thesurvival of test fish compared to

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ing to the Japanese representative,Motosuki Yuri, some Mexican fisher­men would like to see whaling opera­tions as the whales "interfere withfishing operations." However, PorfirioA. Romay of the Mexican FisheriesCommission in San Diego doubtsMexican approval. According toRomay, "the Mexican Governmentwants to preserve the whales as aprecious natural resource." Addi­tionally, the whales represent animportant attraction for Baja Cali­fornia's developing tourist economy.

Several United States conservationorganizations learned of the proposaland began to organize a protest. AlPrentis, Charter President of theAmerican Cetacean Society, estimatesthat about 1,000 gray whales could beharvested without endangering thespecies. However, he is opposed to anywhaling because of the difficulty inregulating whaling operations.

shallow tanks ( < I m). These testssupport the hypothesis that testconditions in tanks I m deep are notrepresentative of all river condi­tions that directly relate to mortalityof juvenile salmon and trout in theColumbia River.

Data Report 101. Wahle, Roy J.,William D. Parente, Paula J. Jurich,and Robert R. Vreeland. "Releasesof anadromous salmon and trout fromPacific Coast rearing facilities, 1960 to1973." April 1975. 443 p. on 7 micro­fiche. For sale by U.S. Department ofCommerce, National Technical Infor­-mation Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd.,Springfield, VA 22131.

ABSTRACT

Releases of anadromous salmon,Oncorhynchus spp., and trout,Sa/rna spp., from all rearing facili­ties in Alaska, British Columbia,Washington, Idaho, Oregon, andCalifornia are listed for the years1960 through 1973. A total of 113hatcheries, 42 rearing ponds, and2 saltwater rearing pens releasedanadromous salmon and trout atsome time during this 14-yr period.The species offish, brood year, num­ber, weight and size offish released,date of release, and release locationare presented by rearing facility.